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U.S. deportations of illegal immigrants up 2 percent

Jeh Johnson said his department remains focused on finding and deporting immigrants who pose a national security or public safety threat, those who have serious criminal records, and those who recently crossed the Mexican border

Photo: El Universal/Files
30/12/2016 |16:02AP |
Redacción El Universal
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The Obama administration has deported 240,255 immigrants over the past 12 months, a 2 percent increase over 2015.

But while the number of deportations was greater than last year, it was a sharp decrease from 2014.

Commenting on the statistics released Friday, Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said his department remains focused on finding and deporting immigrants who pose a national security or public safety threat, those who have serious criminal records, and those who recently crossed the Mexican border.

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Of those deported, 58 percent had criminal convictions. This was little changed from the 59 percent recorded last year and 56 percent in 2014.

President-elect Donald Trump made illegal immigration a cornerstone of his campaign, promising to deport millions of people living in the country illegally.